Tag Archives: John Hermanson

A Spartan smile and westward stare hold a promise in the air
That’s the way they used to find their own way home
By the stars, on their own
By the stars, on their own

The Milk Carton Kids “Hope of a Lifetime”

It’s been a very busy couple of weeks since the last Great River Radio, but I’m ready to return to the studio this afternoon with a great list of mostly new music, including that wonderful song from the Milk Carton Kids, two guys from California who opened for Over The Rhine last week. They have a sweet sound that might remind you of Simon and Garfunkel, and their stage presence is clever and smart, and I ended up thinking that Paul and Artie had somehow married the Smothers Brothers. The music that night was incredible. The night before, or was it the night after, we saw another duo – Shovels and Rope – husband and wife Michael and Carrie Ann from Charleston, South Carolina and they rocked the house, just the two of them trading off instruments and putting a tremendous energy into the show.

GRR will sample music from those shows and include an actual live track from Ry Cooder’s first live album in 35 years – from his brand new release “Live in San Francisco” with a great band that includes Flaco Jimenez on the accordion. You’ll love the guitar work on “Crazy ‘Bout an Automobile.” Amos Lee just released a new record, and we’ll hear something from that one that includes Alison Krauss and Jerry Douglas in the background.

Also, a set of songs about birds from one of our favorite new compilations “Consider the Birds” from House of Mercy recordings here in the Twin Cities – this record is a companion to Debbie Blue’s new and beautiful book Consider the Birds: A Provocative Guide to Birds of the Bible. More about that during Great River Radio this afternoon.

All that and more from Jack Johnson, Tift Merritt, Sarah Jarosz (my song of the week!), Valerie June, Best Coast and others.